Circuit Material Solutions at 2012 IMS

Rogers Corporation and representatives of its Advanced Circuit Materials Division will be at the upcoming 2012 IEEE International Microwave Symposium (IMS) to help attendees learn more about Rogers’ wide range of high frequency circuit materials.

The 2012 IEEE International Microwave Symposium (www.ims2012.org), RF/microwave industry’s largest event, features a three day exhibition scheduled for June 19-21 at the Montreal Convention Center in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and a full week of technical sessions. Rogers’ representatives will be at Booth #2902 to highlight two new additions to its proven lines of high performance circuit materials: the 2929 bondply system and low loss RO4835™ circuit laminate with enhanced oxidation resistance for excellent long term performance.

Visitors to the Rogers’ booth can review the new 2929 bondply, an unreinforced hydrocarbon based thin film adhesive system intended for use in high performance, high reliability, multi-layer circuit constructions. Its low dielectric constant (2.9) and low loss tangent (<0.003) at microwave frequencies make it ideal for bonding multi-layer circuit boards based on high performance composite dielectric materials such as Rogers RT/duroid® 6000, RO4000®, and RO3000® series laminates.

The proprietary crosslinkable resin system makes this thin film adhesive system compatible with sequential bond processing. The ability to manage flow of the adhesive system allows for significant blind via fill capability with potentially predictable cutback ratios for designs requiring blind cavities. 2929 bondply material is compatible with traditional flat press and autoclave bonding methods. It is currently available in 0.0015, 0.002, and 0.003 in. (0.038, 0.051, and 0.076 mm) sheet thicknesses. Sheets can be stacked to yield thicker adhesive layers. The unreinforced thin film can be tack bonded to inner layers to simplify simultaneous machining of cutouts through core and adhesive layers. A carrier film protects the adhesive layer from contamination during machining and multi-layer-board booking processes.

IMS show attendees can also get their first look at Rogers’ new RO4835 ™ high frequency laminate, specially formulated with improved oxidation resistance. RO4835 laminates were developed for applications needing a special level of electrical stability over time and temperature, while maintaining the cost advantages of a thermoset, FR-4 processable material. Just as with RO4350B material RO4835 laminates offer a dielectric constant of 3.48 at 10 GHz and low loss tangent of 0.0037 at 10 GHz, and a low z-axis coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) for excellent plated-through-hole (PTH) reliability under a variety of processing and operating conditions. These improved oxidation resistance circuit materials exhibit x- and y-axis expansion coefficients similar to that of copper, for excellent dimensional stability. RO4835 laminates are RoHS-compliant, do not require special preparation, and can be processed using standard methods.

To help IMS show visitors learn more about Rogers’ materials, two of Rogers’ representatives will present Microwave Application Seminars (MicroApps) in the MicroApps Theatre located on the exhibition floor. The first of these material related MicroApps is scheduled at 11:05 A.M. Tuesday, June 19. John Coonrod, Rogers’ Market Development Engineer and author of numerous articles on circuit materials as well as the popular “ROG” blog series (www.rogerscorp.com/acm), will discuss materials for multi-layer circuits with his presentation of “Bonding Materials Used in Multi-layer Microwave PCB Applications.” In the second MicroApp, set for 3:05 P.M. Wednesday, June 20, Rogers’ Associate Research Fellow, Allen Horn III, will aid attendees with thermal management issues, with his presentation on “Reducing Active Device Temperature Rise and RF Heating Effects with High Thermal Conductivity, Low Loss Circuit Materials.”